My Music - WorlView

“Strive For Soul.” - Frank Rehak

The title “WorlView” represents John's take on the various musical settings he has been a part of and is his "way of tying it all into one setting". The musical styles include Latin jazz, blue note jazz, straight ahead and funk. He says that he plays mostly flugelhorn on six out of ten cuts for a couple of reasons - "One, whenever I play, it is inevitable that someone will come up to me and tell me how much they like the flugelhorn’s sound. Two, I love the sound of it. I haven’t heard too many cats play the flugelhorn in a Latin jazz setting. It brings a new sound to the music. You can't play it as loud as the trumpet or else the sound gets bright and brittle. Also, everyone has to play softer for it to be heard so you don’t have the on-stage volume problems that a lot of bands do."

John feels he has been fortunate enough to play in a variety of different musical situations with talented and intuitive musicians. The influences of groups like Wayne Wallace’s Rhythm and Rhyme, Brilliant Corners, Jon Jang’s Pan-Asian Arkestra, Bay Area Jazz Composer’s Orchestra, Anthony Brown’s Asian American Orchestra, Wally Schnalle Quintet (to name a few) have helped shape his musical “WorlView”.

The art work on the cover and insert were done by John's talented wife Susan. He says, "She is one of those incredible beings who can re-create the joys of life from a lump of clay, paper and pen, canvas and brush. Her love and talent has inspired me in so many ways. I sincerely hope you enjoy her work as well as the collective effort brought to you by all of the artists on this CD". To purchase a copy of WorlView, go to: http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/JohnLWorleyJr

Notes From John on his album...

WORLVIEW is a tune I wrote around ten years ago. It is based on the changes to Tadd Dameron’s “Lady Bird.” I always loved Fats Navarro’s solo on the tune and I quoted one of his lines briefly in my solo. The melody was influenced by an idea that saxophonist Jim Norton used in a background section in one of his compositions.

WHY WAIT was written by bassist extraordinaire Stanley Clark for “The Griffith Park Collection,” a 1980 album featuring him, Joe Henderson, Freddie Hubbard, Chick Corea and Lenny White. I’ve always loved the tune and when I had the opportunity of a lifetime last year playing with Stanley for a week at Yoshi’s, it was part of the repertoire. When Stanley said I could record it, I jumped at the chance.

OUT OF THE NIGHT CAME YOU is a Horace Silver tune that’s a joy to play but is oddly overlooked. Wayne arranged this one (as well as “Worlview,” “Passando El Tiempo,” and “Musing”) and I feel that it’s a classic, one of the best arrangements I’ve ever heard!

E.D. (TRIBUTE TO ERIC DOLPHY) I’ve always loved the angular quality of Dolphy’s playing, so different from anyone else I’ve ever heard. And I thought that the story about him practicing bird calls on his horn was way cool. The guitarist is a young player from Paris named Sebastien Lanson who I met while on tour in Europe with the Stanford University Jazz Orchestra back in 2000. I was impressed by his playing and I’m happy to have him on my CD.

PASSANDO EL TIEMPO is a Wayne Wallace original that we first played on one of his gigs, and I’m grateful to him for letting me record it. His music is a joy to play and his arrangement is marvelous. The title translates as “Passing The Time.”

AUTUMN SERENADE was inspired by the classic John Coltrane/Johnny Hartman recording, a supremely sultry and sexy rendition of the tune. Listening to it, I get the image of being in an exotic cafe with my wife, somewhere far away from the Silicon Valley.

RAHSAAN’S RUN is a Woody Shaw original. I brought in an arrangement of the tune and after some tweaking by the fellows we cam e up with this version. I have to acknowledge their creative input, which made the arrangement what it is. Thanks everyone.

JAZZ IS represents a collaboration by Wayne and myself. We combined my words and horn lines with Wayne’s gift for finding the right groove and came up with this tribute to the art form known as Jazz. The sentence, “Jazz is freedom” sums up the difference between European classical music and America’s truly original art form. The freedom to stretch and express oneself has been intoxicating to me from an early age. William Minenfield’s soulful reading and improvisation was beautiful.

MUSING was added on our third recording session. Wayne (who produced the CD) handed me the music and said, “You need to record a duo tune and here it is”. Murray is one of the bay area’s most remarkable pianists and it was a joy to play this with him.

O.C./D.C. (ORNETTE COLEMAN/DON CHERRY) was written with the hope of capturing the spirit of expression you find every time you play a CD of theirs. John Carlos Perea instigated some very creative ideas between the soloists and rhythm section. Jim Norton, one of my oldest and dearest friends tears it up in his solo. His playing and composing has been an inspiration to me for over 20 years. Look for more of his writing on my next CD. After the trombone solo I wrote a short chorale section that gives the tune a European flavor. It made me reminisce about being in Verona, Italy back in 1990 with Jon Jang and the Pan Asian Arkestra. There is something magical about standing in the ruins of an ancient city and seeing the sweep of history everywhere around you.